Stream The Roots' New Album, '...and then you shoot your cousin'

blame it on ShakeMay 13, 2014

Next week (May 19th to be exact), The Roots will release their 11th studio album, ...and then you shoot your cousin. With features from Raheem DeVaughn, Dice Raw, Greg Porn, Patty Crash and others, the new LP can be heard a week early, thanks to Pitchfork. Check out the advance below and be sure to pre-order the LP on iTunes.

Stream The Roots' New Album, '...and then you shoot your cousin' was last modified: January 7th, 2015 by Shake

When Black Rook came on I was ready to rap Black Milk's Deadly Medley.. left me kinda disappointed lol

MidKnightMaRawder

Same here, hate it when people use same samples but song was dope, but Black Milk is a tad better of course.

MidKnightMaRawder

Album is great, though I wish it had more songs. More Malik B wouldn't hurt either.

Sirilly

This album sounds great, the legendary Roots crew has done it again. I've got to cop it. I do wish there was more songs and tad bit more rapping, but I understood it for what it was. Dope.

COLDCASE187

shit is garbage and I'm from philly

Nuance

This is the only shit coming out of Philly right now that IS NOT garbage homie. Peedi ain't doing shit, Free ain't doing shit, Sigel ain't doing shit. You ain't heard any really Philly rap in so long you don't even know what to appreciate. Go to sleep my man.

Cheeba G

Mr. Green and Malik B are also not garbage, and they're coming out of Philly!

Nuance

I don't know Mr.Green's music so I can't speak on that. And I will always consider Malik B a part of The Roots so he was included in my statement.

People sleep on The Roots and it's because they've never had a consistent sound. Everyone expects hip-hop artists to sound the same their whole career. From album 1 The Roots never sound the same but always deliver masterpieces. Another great album from The Legendary.

marty mcfly

The Roots have had a consistent sound but they just dont make records that hip hop culture gives a fuck about. They on some Nick Cannon shit, they make music for white people. The Roots make good music (rarely great) and Black Thought is an awesome MC but the thing is people just dont care. When the Roots make an album, its almost like their not talking to the Hip Hop culture and thats why people dont listen.

Well The Roots making Rhythm and Blues with Jazz, and soft Rock and then Hip Hop and they act as if their so great they dont need singles or interviews or promo or any word on what their music is about or anything. As long as white women in the suburbs continue to support their albums they act like they dont give a shit about hip hop culture really.

MewLover34

Fact:

Bad Roots Album > Good JAY Z Album

marty mcfly

You crazy

Sticky

IMO good music > promos, singles and interviews. But that's just me, I know jay-z has some killer promos

marty mcfly

Jayz got good music too but not only that, he has some great music and there is some distance between good and great. The Roots make good music but hardly ever good enough to have even a small effect on hip hop culture. The last Roots album to really have an impact on hip hop was in 1998 with Things Fall Apart. Since then The Roots have been pretty much not even hip hop. Their an alternative rock band that has rap verses at this point. I got love for The Roots but after years of just good music, its like ok where's the great music? The game changer? The Event music? The hip hop anthems? You wanna compare to Jayz? Homie you talking about a whole other level of hip hop that The Roots will never see or compete in and the sad part is they could if they wanted. They choose to stay in the shadows of the culture and thats wack to me. You take a song like Empire State? Homie that aint just promo, thats very good, I mean great music. Something the Roots havn't done since Black Thought had hair like a roster. You can imply The Roots make better music then Jayz but the performance of the music does absolute nothing to back the claim up and there is no excuse for a band thats been out 20 years at this point. Every time the Roots drop it should be a bigger event then a Jay album and it never is. Its literally music that Hip Hop is not even effected by at all anymore.

Sticky

The roots are one of very few live instrumation hip hop bands and are by far the most prominent (most couldn't even name any other). Every single album they have ever released has a unique and interesting sound. Yeah, Empire State was a massive hit on a level the roots have never experienced but future hip-hop artists will not be influenced by a catchy hit. Flo Rida has more number one singles than the roots I bet but that doesn't mean he will have more influence on hip-hop culture. Jay ranked his albums not his singles for a reason. It's completely subjective whether or not they have great album, for me 8/10 is great and for me most of the roots discography is atleast 8/10.

marty mcfly

Lets talk about the difference between Jayz and the Roots shall we. And I say this outta love for the Roots. I own most their albums and I know their music on a song for song bases. Most of their own fans do not. Now the distance between Wiz Kalifa and Nas is the same distance between the Roots and Jayz and thats MUSICALLY and LYRICALLY. Now musically Jay has rapped over better beats, more range of musicality of beats and just straight up more fire beats. You want the live instrumentation sound? Ok, go back to Blueprint 2, The Black Album, Kingdom Come and BP3 and though that music is still beats it is the live instrumentation sound and Jay pulled it off better then the Roots on numerous occasions. You wanna talk lyricism? How many MEMORABLE verses has Jay dropped in his career vs Black Thought? Has Jay made TEN TIMES THE STATEMENTS AND QUOTABLES has Black Thought has? Verses wise? Lets talk range in concept material lyrically? Does Jay not have WWWWAAAAYYYYY more range in concepts, subject matter and overall lyricism from 22 Twos to Hard Knock Life, to A Dream, Minority Report, I Know, New Day, 1900 Hustler, 99 Problems, Moment Of Clarity, DOA, A Star Is Born, Heaven, No Church etc... Is not the first verse from Oceans a better verse then every verse Black Thought spit on Undun? Conceptually? Is not American Gangster a better album then Undun? Lets talk rhyme schemes? In the last decade has not Jay spit way more different rhyme schemes then Black Thought? Lets go musical range... Who has shown more range musically between albums from Jay and The Roots? I could go on but its alot of reasons why you dont compare The Roots to Jayz and thats cause they have not musically done better then Jayz. You could talk about hits but alot of those songs also are better songs then the Roots singles straight up and down. You talk about influence? Really? between Jay and The Roots? COMEONSON. Again I say this outta respect for the Roots. Most of you couldn't recite one verse that Black Thought has spit in the last decade, meanwhile Jay could fill a stadium up and do a 2 hour performance and every person in the crowd will know his intricate verses as if they wrote the rhymes themselves. This is not me hating on the Roots, this is me being honest and saying the Roots can be alot better if they choose to be but because you people keep telling them how good they are, they feed you the same battle raps over the same boring production year after year and you'll act like its the greatest shit ever. Be real with yourself, no it is NOT. The Roots dont suck (they make good music but great?NO) but they never push themselves to be great and thats a shame.

Sticky

This isn't really about jay-z vs the roots but yeah jay does have a larger influence but jay is one of the most influential rappers of all time so that is rarely a fair comparison. Clearly you just have different tastes, personally I think the roots have one of the best discographies in hip-hop, I think black thought is a top twenty all-time rapper and although they don't have a classic the way jay does, if I wanted to I could put their entire discography (minus some of the collab albums and ) on shuffle and not skip a single song, something you can't say for many artists

marty mcfly

And many of those songs will sound exactly the same musically and lyrically. There will be no risk taken in their music, there will be no change in style sonically or lyrically. Black Thought will hardly ever get personal or ever dive into subject matter thats very opinionated. There will be no going for something epic artistically. There music will for the most part be delivered the same over an over again song after song and will strike the same kinda cord with the same kinda people in the same kinda zone album after album. Again, this is not coming from a Roots hater, this is coming from a fan of theirs that knows their music inside and out and im just being honest.

Sticky

If the roots don't change sonically then yeezus reminded me of college dropout

marty mcfly

And no this is not about Jayz. My opinion is purely based on The Roots and I say what im saying because I like their music not because I dislike it but it is what it is.